Web designers use the phrase “social proof” for visible evidence that people are visiting and using a website. Without signs of life, a website looks about as inviting and reliable as an urban street without any pedestrians.

For almost two decades, my main social proof came from Facebook. I had installed a counter that showed how many times people shared any post or “liked” or commented on anyone else’s share. The maximum number of engagements for any single post reached almost 6,000 immediately after the 2016 election, but every post showed at least a few. Although I could not directly see most of the Facebook activity (which occurred on strangers’ pages), I think these statistics were accurate.

Early this month, Facebook stopped sharing engagement statistics. I have switched off the counts, which would look like zeroes even though people are still sharing my posts on Facebook. People often comment there or on LinkedIn, but those discussions are invisible here.

One suggestion would be to move to Substack, or at least cross-post there. But I have been blogging for so long (since January 2003) that I have seen various platforms come and go–and some have gone bad. I’m glad that I have kept plugging along on my own website.

I’ve added a line of code that shows the total number of visitors to this homepage since 2023 (currently: 405,749). It appears on the right-hand navigation bar. I’m hoping that it indicates some life without just looking braggy. I could present visitor data for each post, but that would require more complicated coding, and I’m not sure that it would add anything. Suggestions are welcome!

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